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Monday, October 31, 2016

LITTLE MORE than a decade ago, Turkey appeared to be an emerging democracy with vibrant civil society and somewhat independent media. No longer. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has abandoned democracy and is building a strongman cult of personality.

October 2016: U.S. Claims Ability to Prosecute Foreign Actors Acting Abroad for Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws

On March 19, 2016, FBI agents arrested Turkish citizen and resident Reza Zarrab at Miami International Airport, soon after he landed with his wife and young child to visit Disney World. The principal charge, brought by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, was violating the Iran Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”).

According to OECD data, nearly 19 percent of Turkish youth are unemployed. Some 13.3 percent of men aged 15-19, 18.3 percent of men aged 20-24 and 47.6 percent of women aged 20-24 are unemployed, not getting training and not getting an education.

Highlighting a chapter of German-Turkish history that has largely been forgotten, Eren Onsoz′ ″Haymatloz″ tells the stories of five German Jewish academics who emigrated to Turkey in the 1930s, to be welcomed with open arms. By Heike Mund

Journalists say Turkey's raid on the newspaper Cumhuriyet is the latest step in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drive to crush critical voices. The government claims the raids are in response to the July 15 coup.

Taking Turkey Seriously
Written by European Values | Sunday, October 30th, 2016
erdogan_trt_0

Carl Bildt (European Council on Foreign Relations)

Throughout its entire existence, Istanbul, a city on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait separating Europe from Asia, has been the focus point of the relations between the West and the East. It will very likely retain this role as the relationship between the Christian Europe and the vast Muslim world is gaining significance. The Turkish political life has always been stormy and marked by conflicting visions or aspirations, achievements and obstacles. Nonetheless, during the last two centuries, Turkish reformers have looked up to Europe as the main source of inspiration.

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- More than 10,000 civil servants were fired from their jobs and 15 media outlets shut down for alleged ties to a deadly July coup attempt in Turkey.

Turkish authorities said all those dismissed, including academics, health workers and teachers, were among those with links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed coup attempt, Yenisafak reported.

President given power to directly appoint rectors to universities in Turkey

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be able to appoint rectors to universities directly without having to consider the preferences of academics following the imposition of the latest state of emergency decree on Oct. 29.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

So far this year Turkish tourism has lost $15 billion due to the significant drop in the number of visitors to the country, according to Turizm Data Bank as quoted by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

Turkish coffee is one of Turkey’s best-known hallmarks abroad. The coffee beans are not homegrown, but the slow brewing technique, taste, aroma and a history of about 500 years make Turkish coffee special on the world coffee scene. While it is served in small cups of only several sips, Turkish coffee opens the door to conversations stretching over hours. It is also a central element in a premarital ceremony, in which the family of the groom-to-be visits the family of the bride-to-be to ask for her hand. The bride-to-be makes Turkish coffee for the occasion as a first treat for her future in-laws. To pass the test with flying colors, the coffee has to be brewed on a low flame and have plenty of foam. Yet if the girl is reluctant to marry her suitor, her coffee may not taste that good, and even salt could replace sugar in the brew!

Turkey’s lira is on the cusp of losing the backing of one of its most loyal groups of investors: the people of Turkey.

The country’s citizens and businesses swooped in to buy liras this year amid political upheaval, a botched military coup and a spate of debt downgrades. While the currency fell more than any other emerging market outside of Latin America, Turks bought enough to help it rebound each time it dropped toward 3.10 per dollar.

Human Rights Watch says the Turkish police have been ill treating and torturing detainees since the July failed coup attempt. The NGO has released a report detailing cases of abuse under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey. Ankara has denied prisoners are ill-treated. But there are growing fears for the fate of those accused of being involved in the failed coup.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

ISTANBUL: Despite vertical development across Turkey, the ordinary Turks are pessimistic about what Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised, especially after incarcerating thousands of his political rivals.

As Turkey seems to have had its plate full with a barrage of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) movement and a Kurdish separatist group in the past couple of years, the recent rise of what the Turkish government named the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which it then blamed for launching the recent failed putsch, has authorities scrambling to fend off the new threat.

Turkey asked the United States to keep the Kurdish YPG militia from entering the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, adding it was ready to provide military support to take over the Syrian town, Defence Minister Fikri Isik told TRT Haber on Thursday.

It is not a secret that Turkey’s own narrative of “Turkish affairs” is probably Turkey’s worst enemy. Its inconsistency, unrealism and inflammatory rhetoric-based policy actions are the other suicidal features of Turkish policy calculus. Turkish leadership and diplomacy, inevitably, suffers from a serious problem about being convincing.

Turkey is going through turbulent times. In the wake of the attempted coup on July 15, 2016—fortunately unsuccessful, thereby averting the formation of a new military dictatorship—the country is heading toward an uncertain future.

Konya, Turkey—The Turkish minister of energy and natural resources Berat Albayrak announced the tender for a 1-gigawatt photovoltaic solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya, which will be held in December. The announcement described it as “world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant will mark the new era for the renewable energy in Turkey”.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

After kissing and making up from a downed Sukhoi fighter jet over Syria, Russia and Turkey are back to being business partners again. Gazprom and Botas Petroleum agreed on Oct. 10 to push ahead with the so-called Turkish Stream pipeline. This is going to hurt a few countries.

Turkish authorities arrest mayor of Diyarbakir
Europe
25.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - The mayor of Diyarbakir, a major city in Turkey‘s predominantly Kurdish south-east, has been detained on suspicion of terrorist support, according to state news agency Anadolu.

Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioğlu, a former Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry who is Turkey’s new “point man” at the U.N., believes the Middle East has to move toward a secular and democratic future.

Why US Changed Position On Turkey’s Participation In Mosul Liberation Operation –
By Iran Review October 25, 2016

By Alireza Rahimi*

It was last December when Turkey deployed its military forces to Bashiqa military base north of the Iraqi city of Mosul after which the war of words and diplomatic tensions escalated between governments in Baghdad and Ankara over violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Turkey. The tensions reached their peak as the time came for launching liberation operation of Mosul when the government of Turkey indicated its resolve to take part in that operation, prompting political and parliamentary officials as well as leaders of political parties in the two countries to take position on this issue.

Turkey has started debating the presidential system in an awkward way. The Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) proposal has very few similarities with democratic presidential systems like those of the United States or France. It is almost an à la carte democracy for beginners with immense powers given to the “president” to dissolve the parliament, appoint judges to high-level courts and the like, but no control over the president him/herself. As long as the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) red lines are limited to the first four articles, the AK Party’s top brass will be able to sell their idea as a “Unitarian Presidential System” that will be similar to those in fragile Central American democracies. But this article is not really about Turkey’s ongoing discussion.

Ankara is set to ask Washington to arrest the U.S.-resident Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of masterminding the bloody July 15 coup attempt, in order to “isolate” him from his network, while legal proceedings on the demand to extradite Gülen continue, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has told the Hürriyet Daily News.

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Big fashion brands are failing to protect Syrian refugees from "endemic" abuse in Turkish clothing factories supplying European retailers, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.

The city of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and the tourism hub of the country, Antalya, the destination for sun- and sea-loving tourists on the same coastline, are 500 kilometers apart. Antalya is in the ancient Pamphylia and Mersin is in the ancient Cilicia region.

Turkey, US to discuss Muslim cleric wanted by Ankara
By Associated Press October 25 at 7:38 AM

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s justice minister says the country has provided “more than sufficient” evidence to the United States for the extradition of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating the July 15 failed coup attempt.

Tourism Slumps in Turkey as US Advises Citizens to Stay Away
By Katie Beiter | The Media Line

October 25, 2016

Amidst political turmoil and attacks by Islamic State and the PKK (the Kurdish Worker’s Party) the U.S Department of State has updated its travel warning for Turkey. The surge in violence over the past 16 months by Kurdish rebels and ISIS has seriously rocked the once-booming tourist industry, cutting tourism by almost 80%, some tourism agencies say.

Is An American Company's Technology Helping Turkey Spy On Its Citizens?

Thomas Fox-Brewster ,

“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with the regret of having been a part of Erdoğan’s insanity, so I’m out.” The company-wide email on April 4 from Kriss Andsten, a senior technical engineer for Fremont, California-based Procera Networks, landed with a thud and marked the beginning of an internal revolt that has rattled the telecom technology provider. Andsten went on to explain his grievance: the sale of Procera’s deep packet inspection product for alleged surveillance by a totalitarian regime. “We are … heading down the rabbit hole where we’re not using it for good anymore, in the name of chasing the next buck. A recent request from Turkey… seals the deal for me. The Cliff’s Notes version is that we’re selling a solution for extracting usernames and passwords from unencrypted traffic.” After nine years at the company’s offices in Malmo, Sweden, he resigned.

Fed up with volatile prices, Turkish government steps in to help Central Bank

ANKARA - Reuters

The Turkish government plans to take a more active role in fighting inflation and will attempt to tame volatile food prices, senior economic officials said, moves designed to give the Central Bank more leeway for monetary easing.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Since he was elected as Turkey’s president in August 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been hoping to redesign the Turkish Constitution to introduce an executive presidential system. The July 15 failed coup put that discussion aside for a moment, but not for long. Last week, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Action Party, Devlet Bahceli, who has lately emerged as a political ally of Erdogan, announced that his party could help the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) take the presidential system to a referendum. As a result, political observers began to expect a referendum in early 2017. In fact, government spokesman Hayati Yazici made the plan clear by noting that a constitutional amendment may come to the parliament in January and that a referendum could be held in April.

At least for now, Turkey's economy weathers downgrades, political turmoil

In the wake of an abortive coup in July, ratings agencies have not been kind to Turkey's sovereign credit. Nevertheless, some global investors still see opportunity in the middle of a country riven by political unrest.

Turkey reports more than 35,000 in detention after coup attempt
Europe
23.10.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online auf Facebook posten Auf Twitter posten
Istanbul (dpa) - There are more than 35,000 people in detention in Turkey more than three months after this year‘s attempted coup, says Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, noting that a further 4,000 remain under investigation.

AS is known to all, in mythology “Pandora’s box” refers to a large jar that contained all the evils of the world and when it was opened, all the evils (hatred, pain, poverty, war and death) flew out. Once it was closed again, the last thing left in the box was “hope.” Long story short: It refers to an action that may be done with good intention, but leads to serious adverse consequences and becomes the “beginning of something.” After months of intensive preparations, the long-awaited operation in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul started last week after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi pushed the button. The aim of the operation is to clear Mosul, which is Iraq’s second largest city with a population of 1.5 million, from Daesh’s occupation.

Turkey will not be spectator on issues concerning its security: Erdoğan

Turkey will not remain as a spectator on issues that threaten its security, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 22, emphasizing Ankara's drive to sweep Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Kurdish militants from territory near its border.

In March 2011, when then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Baghdad, he was met with an avalanche of cheers and affection from supporters of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Thousands of greeters lining his route carried placards welcoming him. Five years later, there is not the slightest trace of that affection. On Oct. 18, Sadr’s supporters demonstrated in front of the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, shouting “Occupier, get out!”

“The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind,” writes John Maynard Keynes in the opening sentence of The Economic Consequences of the Peace. “Very few of us realize with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the … organization by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century.”

Friday, October 21, 2016

U.S. defense secretary says Turkey should have a role in Mosul operation

ANKARA, Turkey — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said during a visit here Friday that Turkey should have a role in the campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State, a move that could put the United States at odds with Iraq as officials in Baghdad become increasingly hostile to any Turkish presence in their country.

From multi-sensory lighting to 3D printed clothing, tech-inspired designs are the focus of Design Week Turkey. The four day event is a first for Istanbul and is already attracting international designers.

The bid for a 1,000-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant, poised to be the largest of its kind in the world, in central Turkish province of Konya will be held in December, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak announced Thursday.

The efforts by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) to effect a constitutional shift from Turkey’s parliamentary system to an executive-presidential one have stepped up with support from Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Thursday, October 20, 2016

I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot

The pilot who hit the Presidential Palace in Ankara during the July 15 failed coup has said that he hit the building on purpose as part of the coup, making him one of the first soldiers to admit that he acted knowing that there was a putsch against the country’s elected government.

In mid-April of 2003, two weeks after the U.S. 173rd paratroop division had taken Kirkuk, eleven Turkish men were detained by American forces near the city. They were Turkish special forces dressed as civilians but carrying AK-47s and body-armor. “They did not come here with a pure heart,” U.S. commander Col. Bill Mayville told reporters. “Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk.” The headline in Time magazine described the event as “The Turks Enter Iraq.” Thirteen years later, the Turkish presence is as robust as ever and seeks to influence post-ISIS Iraq.

Istanbul (CNN)A would-be suicide bomber, suspected of being a member of ISIS, was shot and killed by anti-terror forces during a shootout in the Turkish capital of Ankara, state-run Anadolu agency reported.

When the owner of Turkey’s biggest phone company received the nation’s largest-ever loan in 2013, it trumpeted the deal as so "hugely oversubscribed" that banks had to lend less than they wanted. Three years later, a missed payment may leave those banks grateful they were cut off.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Three months after the July 15 failed coup, dismissals of military personnel and a flood of investigations about the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continue. And on Oct. 12, in the fifth wave of purges, 201 ranking officers from the Turkish air force and 32 from the navy were discharged.

It’s the same old story over and over again. If things are not going well in Turkey, then it must be outside forces who are behind this and who are also orchestrating an evil campaign against the country in the international media.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief achievement in his first years as Turkey’s prime minister was to stabilize the economy. He was elected against the backdrop of deep malaise in Turkey and a financial crisis which had decimated the savings of ordinary Turks. In the run up to the November 2002 elections in which Erdoğan’s party won a plurality, the Turkish Lira had lost 30% of its value in a single day.

The US Navy celebrated its 241st birthday on Oct. 13 and sent a few tweets to celebrate. However, one was deleted in less than 24 hours. The deleted tweet contained three images of historical navy moments, with the words “America’s Sailor. For 241 Years: Tough. Bold. Ready.” One of the images was a painting, “Decatur Boarding a Tripolitan Gunboat,” done in 1858 by the artist Dennis Malone Carter. The titular event had taken place 54 years before, and the artist had not been present. The historical accuracy of the painting is a topic of debate, but it is of great artistic and patriotic value for the US Navy, which comes from humble origins.

The Turkish government’s crackdown after the July 15 coup attempt has been expanding rapidly in the business sector, targeting companies accused of financing the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization, as Ankara has designated the Gulen community, which it accuses of planning and executing the putsch. Under a Sept. 1 legislative decree, scores of companies placed under trusteeship by the courts were handed over to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), that is, to direct government control.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is determined to take part in a possible operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, despite calls from Iraq for Turkey to withdraw its troops.

Friday, October 14, 2016

According to the latest round of the World Values Survey, only 11 percent of Turks believe that “most people can be trusted.” In Germany, that number is 45 percent. When it comes to trusting others, Turks are at the bottom of the list. Yet in comparison to others, Turks save less and borrow more. The current account deficit stands testimony to that. So Turks are surrounded by people they don’t trust, but don’t build up financial security around them. Sounds like a recipe for anxiety to me.

Rockets aimed at fuel tanker hit Turkish fish store near tourist town: Reports
It said the rockets were fired from a mountainous area near the road between the city of Antalya and the resort town of Kemer.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — As the Turkish government continues its purge of alleged coup plotters in the Fethullah Gulen movement, many people are asking: How did Dicle University become a sanctuary for the movement?

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Turkey’s bid to join the EU is a bad joke; but don’t kill it
Two cheers for hypocrisy
Oct 15th 2016 | From the print edition

THE two young women glance at each other before confiding their secret. Turkey has become such a fearful place, they say, that they have formed a pact never to have children. Amid official reprisals and purges after a failed coup in July, the lights of democracy are dimming. Each week brings a fresh wave of detentions or sackings, and no one is immune. The women have a friend who was stripped of a degree because of her university’s links to Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based preacher whom the government accuses of plotting the coup. Official paranoia scales heights of absurdity: last week a textbook was banned for using the letters “f” and “g”, Mr Gulen’s initials, in a geometry puzzle. “Everybody’s scared shitless,” says one prominent academic.

The Turkish Lira hit a record low against the dollar on Oct. 13 over fears that political uncertainty could be triggered by a fresh government move to push through legislation introducing an executive presidential system, as well as U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) signals about a possible interest rate hike.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

ANKARA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's government said on Wednesday it would revive efforts to change the constitution and expand the powers of the presidency, helping send the lira currency to a record low as investors fretted about renewed political uncertainty.

It was not centuries ago. It was not years ago. It was only 16 months ago that this society managed to open the door for a possible coalition government. The results of the June 7, 2015 general election reflected the need for reconciliation in the seat distribution at the Turkish Parliament.

Brussels (dpa) - Can Dundar, an exiled Turkish journalist who was sentenced to jail for publishing information about arms shipments to Syria, was shortlisted Tuesday for the European Parliament‘s 2016 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

“Brexit means more Germanification of the European Union, and you know that this is not good for us,” a Spanish participant told an Italian participant at a two-day conference I attended last week. One Dutch participant, on the other hand, underlined the lack of French leadership within the EU as a key concern for the Netherlands. Ironically, the event that brought them together was organized by a German think tank!
At a time when many European capitals are struggling with economic and political problems, (for instance Spain, where the conference took place, still has no government even after the Spaniards went to the ballot box for a second time), German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had to assume leadership of the EU.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the war in Syria with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday, including Turkey's military operations there and the need to cooperate on aid to Aleppo.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Everyone expected Sunday night’s town hall debate to get
ugly. It capped off one of the most explosive weekends in American
political history. The Republican nominee had been caught on tape making
vulgar comments about women, which caused an avalanche of GOP lawmakers
to rescind their support. The Democratic nominee was handling a mess of
her own—the leaked transcripts of speeches she had kept secret during
the primaries.

Nonetheless, the raw tension on the debate stage Sunday night still shocked.

There was Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton the “devil,” a
person filled with “tremendous hatred” whom he would jail if he were
president. There was Clinton’s icy nod at Trump upon their greeting—no
handshake—and her almost immediately declaring Trump “unfit to serve.”
Discussions about policy frequently vacillated into personal attacks.
And at the end of the night, when an audience member asked each
candidate to say something nice about the other, they hardly hid their
reluctance.

So: Was this the nastiest, lowest moment in presidential
debate history. And what does it matter to the state of the race? We
asked some of the savviest political watchers and operatives to talk us
through what we just witnessed—“incomprehensibly demoralizing,” “a grim,
tawdry affair,” and “surreal, bizarre and often entertaining” were some
of their responses—and game out what it means for this highly unusual
election.

Drugs worth 25 million Turkish Liras were seized in an Oct. 7 operation in Istanbul, with police confiscating 1.1 tons of the chemically modified cannabis-based drug “skunk.”
The raid on the basement of a building in the Bayrampaşa district of Istanbul marked the largest single amount of skunk ever confiscated in Turkey, according to police.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul as the two leaders push toward normalizing ties that were strained by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane near the border with Syria last year.

Putin and Erdogan in ‘the city of the heart’s desire’
M.K. Bhadrakumar

Three summits in as many months between two countries would be possible, in principle, but exceptionally rare. That is what Russia and Turkey are doing when President Vladimir Putin arrives in Istanbul on October 10 to hold his third meeting since August with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not easily pacified over the July 15, 2016, failed putsch in his country. He is on a manic hunt for Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist cleric and former ally-turned foe of the president who presently lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, United States. The government in Ankara apparently has foreclosed any controversion of its suspicion that Gulen is the mastermind of the failed coup in which some 240 persons died and more than 2,000 got injured, even though no conclusive evidence has yet been adduced to prove that indictment. Gulen himself has openly condemned the coup and fiercely denied any connection with its executors. But proof be damned! Erdogan has picked his battle and is determined to exert vengeance; a remote hint, even of some vicarious link with the Gulen cosmos, is sufficient to bring anyone into the line of his fire.

At the last count, Turkish authorities have suspended nearly 13,000 police officers, detained dozens of military chiefs, and only last week shut down a television station in a widening clampdown against perceived enemies of the government and Gulen associates. The police headquarters confirmed that 12,801 officers – 2,523 of whom were of very senior cadre – got booted because of their suspected links to the cleric. Turkish news sources reported that besides suspending five percent of the entire police force, the authorities also detained 33 air force officers in random raids across the country, while broadcast transmission by the IMC television station was cut following accusations that it was spreading “terrorist propaganda.” State-run news agency, Anadolu, also said 37 people working at the Interior Ministry had been removed from their posts and offered no explanation for the measure.

Sunday, October 09, 2016

The Turkish Media’s Role During the Attempted Coup: an Interview with Bilge Yesil
Claire Sadar
October 9th, 2016

In this interview, Bilge Yesil, assistant professor of Media Culture at the City University of New York and author of the new book, Media in New Turkey, speaks with Muftah about the role played by the Turkish media the night of the attempted coup, on July 15, 2016, the role of populism in justifying media censorship in Turkey, and how “Western values” have been appropriated by the AKP for its own ends.*

Friday, October 07, 2016

Three Turkish diplomats seeking asylum in Germany after coup - media
by Reuters

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least three Turkish diplomats, reportedly including one military attache, are seeking asylum in Germany in the wake of the failed military coup in Turkey, German media cited government sources as saying.

Ankara’s late-August military intervention into northern Syria, official dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, was a moment of revelry for many in the Turkish press. A great majority of editors, columnists, and television presenters saw the Turkish army’s advance as a decisive statement of the nation’s resolve. The invasion and creation of a security buffer in Syria fulfilled two objectives vital to the country’s security. First, they forced the Islamic State (ISIS) to retreat after years of occupying towns and villages along Turkey’s southern border. Second, and perhaps most important, they were an effort to contain Syria’s most powerful Kurdish faction, the Party of Democratic Union (PYD), to areas east of the Euphrates river. From Ankara’s perspective, such moves would not only improve Turkish security, but were a natural extension of Ankara’s ongoing campaign against the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist organization based in Turkey. Although the PKK and PYD identify themselves as different organizations, the Turkish government and most Turkish commentators consider them a single terrorist group. The establishment of a Syrian front, in the words of one Turkish analyst, thus opened a new phase in the country’s war on terrorism, one that equally condemns the “racist projects” of ISIS, the PKK, and the PYD to “the trash bin of history.”

Thursday, October 06, 2016

Doğan Holding Chairwoman Begümhan Doğan Faralyalı has called for unity behind Turkey’s common values, emphasizing the significance of widening an environment of “trust and good intentions” based on “commonalities and shared values."

The purge of suspected supporters of the July 15 failed coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Turkey’s military down hundreds of thousands of men, including nearly 200 generals, just as Erdogan seeks an expanded role in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.

OPEC and non-OPEC members to meet in Istanbul
October 5, 2016 Share Print 0

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement a production deal OPEC members reached in Algiers last month, Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa has told local Ennahar TV.

Turkish forces and FSA fighters advanced fast toward the west after capturing Jarablus, a town just across from the Turkish border. Military analysts like retired Brig. Gen. Naim Babüroğlu say the reason for this is that ISIL withdrew its heavy weapons before the Turkish advance in order to regroup in the towns of al-Bab and Dabiq near it, which is said to have legendary significance for ISIL.

(CNN)Turkey's newspapers this week documented the deep cracks appearing inside the treasury room of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace -- one of the country's top tourism destinations and once the home of Ottoman sultans. While older cracks had been covered with concrete, "Hurriyet" reported that parts of this iconic structure risk total collapse as a "result of years of neglect of historical heritage."

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Each year on Sept. 26, Turkey proudly celebrates its annual Turkish Language Day with conferences and festive ceremonies around the country. This year was no exception, with many leading politicians issuing statements calling on the Turkish people to continue their efforts to cherish the Turkish sensibility of language for future generations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish is an “assurance of our people’s unity and solidarity.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hailed Turkish as a language that is among the most important and prevalent ones in the world, in terms of its geographical spread, the number of people who speak it and its richness. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, extensively praised the heritage Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reforms produced for the Turkish language.

Recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne was a defeat for Turkey, are open to different interpretations. Most certainly they marked a negative development for Greek-Turkish relations – at least for as long as Turkey’s helm remains in the hands of a leader animated by a quest to build a neo-Ottoman or neo-Islamic regime. Recent developments have demonstrated that, first, Erdogan is Turkey’s unrivaled strongman and, second, the campaign to transform Turkey’s state apparatus is successfully moving ahead.

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

As Turkey continues to reel in fugitive disciples of Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt, a key suspect remains on the run: Adil Oksuz, an obscure theology professor who is now being touted by the ruling pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) media as the top civilian organizer of the putsch inside Turkey.

ISTANBUL, Oct 4 Turkey's love affair with international credit agencies - if it ever existed - is already over and its banks may rein in lending yet more if the last of the big firms, Fitch, downgrades the country's rating to "junk".

Turkey today is in desperate need of unity and calm. The failed coup attempt on July 15 came at a time when political tension was already high. There was a moment of hope after the coup was foiled that wisdom would prevail, especially since parliament stood against the coup in a unified manner.

ANKARA, Turkey — Late Sept. 28, the Turkish prime minister’s office issued orders for the closure of 23 TV and radio channels on the grounds they backed separatist and subversive activities. The decision was based on a legislative decree issued immediately after the July 20 declaration of the state of emergency over the failed coup attempt five days earlier.

Monday, October 03, 2016

Just up the hill from Istanbul's Old City, lines are forming outside the district governor's office. This is where Turks can find a new "crisis management center," where those caught up in the post-coup purge can finally be heard in their own defense – or in defense of a relative now behind bars. At a desk, people can submit their written defenses.

“Neither sentiment nor illusion must influence our policy. Away with dreams and shadows! …They cost us dear in the past” (Mustafa Kemal’s 36.5-hour 1927 speech, “Nutuk,” Vol. 2) is a celebrated quote which most recently inspired the title of Robin Wright’s 2008 book, “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East” and the title of the second chapter of Stephen Kinzer’s 2010 book, “Reset: Iran, Turkey and America’s Future.”

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters that USA commandos, at Turkey's request, had joined the Turkish military and "vetted Syrian opposition forces" fighting the Islamic State group near Jarabulus and Al Rai.

ANKARA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish parliament extended the mandate to send military troops abroad for one year during its first convention of the new legislative year on Saturday, Dogan News Agency reported.

Can there be democracies and democracies with religious prefixes? Is the United States a democracy or a Christian democracy? Is Israel a democracy or a Jewish democracy? Is Japan a democracy or a Shinto democracy?

A U.S. judge has rejected a request to recuse himself from overseeing the case of a Turkish gold trader accused of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, calling it untimely and without merit.

The head of one of Turkey's largest media groups, Dogan Media, quit on Friday after hackers released what they said were emails showing him yielding to editorial pressure from members of President Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle.